Effects of wind and tree density on forest fire patterns in a mixed-tree species forest

Abstract

It is well known that global climate change causes an increase in forest fire frequency and severity. Thus, understanding fire dynamics is necessary to comprehend the mitigation of the negative effects of forest fires. Our objective was to inform how fire spreads in a simulated two-species forest with varying wind strengths. The forest in this study was comprised of two different tree species with varying probabilities of transferring fire that was randomly distributed in space at densities (C tot ) ranging from 0.0 (low) to 1.0 (high). We studied the distribution pattern of burnt trees by using local rules of the two-dimensional model. This model incorporated wind blowing from south to north with strength (P w ) ranging from 0.0 (low) to 1.0 (high). Simulation results showed that when C tot > 0.45 the fire covered the entire forest, but when C tot 0.45 the fire did not spread. The wind effect on the variation of the amount of the burnt tree was maximized at the critical density and dramatically decreased with increasing C tot . Additionally, we found that the term of C tot and P w plays an important role in determining the distribution.

Forest Fire Trend and Influence of Climate Variability in India: A Geospatial Analysis at National and Local Scale

“…High solar radiation, and thus, high maximum temperature during the summer makes the humidity low by enhancing the evapotranspiration and makes the forest prone to fire (Vicente-Serrano et al, 2010). Winds play a crucial role in starting and spreading a fire (Song, Lee, 2017) by manoeuvring the flames of the initial spark and it provides fresh oxygen so that it can also stir the fire to the new areas in the potential fuel sites.…”

Building a Social Discount Rate to be Applied in US Afforestation Project Appraisal

“…Also related with the age of forests, tree density can influence the probability of fire. In this way, [50] demonstrate that if the forest density is too low or too high, the wind effect has no impact on fire spread patterns.…”

A review of the potential impacts of climate change on the safety and performance of bridges

“…A considerable increase in the frequency and/or intensity of wildfires in some locations is predictable under the future higher temperatures and decreased precipitation in some locations; see, e.g., Kerr et al (2018), Lozano et al (2017), Song and Lee (2017), Strydom and Savage (2017), and Stambaugh et al (2018). This increase places bridges, and other infrastructure, in the vicinity at an elevated risk.…”

“…Another incident that is arguably attributable to brushfires is the failure of the railroad bridge in San Saba, Texas, USA also in 2013 (Brun et al, 2014). In addition to changes in temperature and precipitation, the projected faster winds in some locations may further aggravate this risk by increasing the fire spread (Song & Lee, 2017). 4.7.…”